1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a home network, and more particularly, to a method and system for quickly selecting a device desired by a user from among a plurality of devices on a home network and playing content included in a portable device using the selected device.
2. Description of the Related Art
Performance of portable content management devices such as camera phones and Motion Picture Experts Group Layer-3 (MP3) players has been improved and various contents have been able to be produced or stored using the portable content management devices. Thus, devices that can carry contents have been diversified. With the use of such devices in a home network environment, a method enabling a user to quickly and easily select a device that can play content is required.
When playing content contained in a portable content management device using a player device on a home network constructed with middleware such as Universal Plug and Play (UPnP), a test play is repeated to identify a desired player device among a plurality of content player devices providing the same play function, as shown in FIG. 1.
In other words, even when a user can clearly select a desired player device, a list of player devices that can play a particular content is generated through a discovery process and a description process and the desired player device is selected from the list by a user to use the desired player device connected to a network.
FIG. 1 illustrates a procedure for playing content in a conventional UPnP environment, and more particularly, a procedure in which a portable content management device 10 discovers a content player device 30 desired by a user from among first through third content player devices 20, 30, and 40 existing in a network.
In operation S1, the portable content management device 10 performs a discovery process with the first through third content player devices 20, 30, and 40. In operation S2, the portable content management device 10 requests description needed to control the first through third content player devices 20, 30, and 40 from the first through third content player devices 20, 30, and 40 discovered through the discovery process. In operation S3, the portable content management device 10 receives the description from the first through third content player devices 20, 30, and 40.
In operation S4, the portable content management device 10 generates a list of the first through third content player devices 20, 30, and 40 using the description.
In operations S5, S6, and S7, the portable content management device 10 repeats a test play to find a content player device that can play content selected by a user. In other words, the user may have a difficulty in identifying a desired content player device among the first through third content player devices 20, 30, and 40 provided on the list. Therefore, to identify the desired content player device, the user performs the test play with respect to each of the three content player devices 20, 30, and 40.
Through the test play, the user can identify the desired content player device 30. Thereafter, in operation S8, a control command to play the content is transmitted to the desired content player device 30.
As described above, to play content using a particular content player device among a plurality of content player devices connected to a conventional UPnP network, a user must attempt a test repeatedly with respect to the content player devices.
In addition, to play the content using a content player device that is not connected to the UPnP network, a discovery process and a description process between a portable content management device and player devices are needed to control the content player device according to a UPnP standard.